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This morning, the King of content marketing, Joe Pulizzi, presented to financial services CEOs at a BlueChip Communication breakfast.
Pulizzi’s key message? Although content marketing is the buzzword of the moment, it's not new: it's simply about taking thought leadership (or any kind of valuable content) to a targeted audience - intentionally.
Simple, yes….but easy? Not always.
The consensus from today’s guests was that not many financial services businesses are doing it well. Pulizzi shared three guiding principles for leaders ready to get on board and step out on the content marketing journey.
1. A market correction will re-focus budgets
While content marketing as a concept may not be new, the way businesses are now approaching it is a breakthrough. You might compare it to a market correction.
Just as our financial markets are currently correcting themselves, marketing budgets are doing likewise. Historically, business have arguably over-invested in advertising and paid media, while underinvesting in content. Media consumption is not decreasing - it's still high. So consumer demand is there - for quality content.
Hence the rise of 'brand as publisher'.
Now, budget allocation is changing and the C-suite, now convinced of its significance, is helping content marketing to eat more of the marketing budget pie.
2. Think like a media company to engage
How do you provide your target audience with content they are interested in and will engage with?
Think like a media company, says Pulizzi. There is no difference between your financial services business and a publisher, except you have more in-depth information on your specific topic. And you're free to serve just one master - the customer.
Publishing models, on the other hand, are challenged because they rely both on advertising and subscribers. Brands (as publishers) don't have to worry about advertisers - they can just serve the customer.
So who better to serve your niche market than you? Joe referred to The Furrow, a farming magazine set up in 1895 by John Deere, as one of the first (and most successful) examples of content marketing. The magazine is now the largest farming magazine in the world with over 1.5 million subscribers. And it is produced and distributed by farming equipment supplier John Deere! Other examples to look at include Kraft Foods with over 1 million subscribers to their paid print magazine Food & Family and Credit Suisse’s The Financialist.
3. When subscribers become loyal customers
Content that is well targeted and highly engaging will see your brand positioned as the trusted advisor in your sector.
Even better, the right content creates a strong emotional connection with your audience. And why does that matter? Because that emotional connection is more likely to deliver subscribers.
Research from the Content Marketing Institute shows that subscribers are ultimately the customers you want. These people spend more money with your brand and remain customers for longer. That’s the reason we are all here in the first place, right?
When it comes to measurement, Pulizzi believes that subscriber numbers should be used as the key metric of growth of your business and ROI derived from content marketing efforts.
The outcome?
Today’s peer-to-peer discussion among CEOs reconfirmed content marketing is not a trend we can afford to ignore. Rather, it plays an integral part in attracting and maintaining customers – and building trust and credibility as the go-to brand in your niche market.
